 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
5 i' A3 e/ g0 R& t$ veach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
! v9 m8 g& G; V; ]9 ]. Yshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a 2 L H2 F' J4 ]. N* b
nursing home today. ! `: ~; g1 X$ q0 {4 @# `
! T Y3 L1 [9 E
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
) b* Q$ `+ ]- f. h6 oAfter many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,
! O& W6 _0 e5 b- T" Ihe smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. ; h; N' p# X2 F" x+ Q! {
- ^3 \# C# Y1 B8 L; `, I9 i
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
$ s7 Z( R9 t3 ?' q% k" }8 I7 hdescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
- W. Y3 ~ C9 }% thung on his window.
- l/ P; h3 J5 Y$ p* E% Y9 E( S$ c6 D5 n# _7 s
"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
2 Z1 K+ H5 l. L' F n$ O( Hjust been presented with a new puppy.
( z/ O& u$ p3 R+ b+ s, u0 L9 E+ P. a8 q
"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." ; O0 b J z# W- u' U* H- N
1 q. F) `: S* g: y+ g' q
"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. [$ d, {' x- d( r/ Q/ f
1 ]* e" S2 d m% _4 Y: k" t"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my & |% B# v0 }' S# s8 O Y9 v/ L
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
- K8 M+ }/ f, a. LI arrange my mind. I already decided to love it."
# b' h1 k& t Q/ i: W% Q
) B% @" ~, G( JIt's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
$ f5 {; `. T8 S' [( d7 q; S* O% @2 S8 W1 x4 B( R' [
I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I " a2 g/ w4 `$ Q- l. [
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed 9 C1 T8 O/ q9 a9 l6 ?( q! @& ~: h
and be thankful for the ones that do. 1 O% z" E. ]9 R
: L3 ?+ p2 m2 n
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
6 q) N# k, p' Iday and all the happy memories I've stored away. # A$ ~1 ` x- d2 d
+ w! ?- c1 B# W0 O/ o% bJust for this time in my life.
+ G! P0 j8 Z: Y' a% M. ~: e/ m% o1 \& ^; G, k1 Q1 T; X) N
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
% }& j* i/ A. g' ~( f% C: _& X5 k! T
( {5 g& R! i' c8 P" v. V; ~So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
" Q* n2 j1 C0 y8 d( {( v( {( Vaccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
5 u) c( S# d1 l4 B9 Q& uI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
/ A8 ?: ^# a' I+ _. v3 \$ R
' h# H7 |3 e9 C1 w4 [$ ^& P. m 1. Free your heart from hatred.
6 l6 }; x5 z* x& s0 `( K 2. Free your mind from worries.
+ a T; [8 S! `& o0 g+ v9 L 3. Live simply. , c6 u& D4 w" n( v
4. Give more.
' E6 ]! [" R( m% K 5. Expect less. |
|